May 20, 2025 • 42 mins
Nobody thought Jalen Brunson would turn out to be this good
Previewing the Easter Conference Finals and why people shouldn't take the Pacers lightly
Caitlin Clark continues to bring huge ratings to the WNBA
Guest: Ric Bucher
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go, it's our number two. We are live.
This is the Herd. The Western Conference Finals. Feels like
the Eastern Conference Finals should start tonight, but it's the
Western Conference Finals starting tonight. J Mac, you know I'm
gonna get to Rick Bucher in a couple of minutes.
But it's interesting that I was listening to during the break,
(00:48):
I was listening to a SoundBite from Jay Wright, who's
a CBS broadcaster who's the great coach at Villanover Forever.
A night when I got a job in Vegas, he
was Tark was replaced by Rolie Massa and Jay Wright
he was the assistant, so he struck a friendship.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
He's a great guy.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
But in his bite he was saying, I had no
idea Jalen Brunson was going to be this good of
an NBA player. So like when people project, you just
don't know. And I've said they have totally different games.
But Bruns and is Steve Nash. I watched them in college,
really good college players, good, not superstars. Then they go
(01:25):
to an NBA and they've got one's got Luca, one's
got Dirk as the best player.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
They're the two.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
And then one goes to Phoenix, gets the perfect coach,
Mike dan Coney. One goes to New York and gets
a defensive coach, Tibbs, and they totally popped. Nobody thought
Nash was going to be a back to back MVP
or he won two MVPs. Nobody thought that, and nobody
thought Bruns. And even if you thought he was a one,
you didn't think he was like a one to one,
like the great.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Closer in the fourth.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
And it just goes to show if you give people opportunities,
you give them the right fit, you give them the
right guidance and the roster. Now Brunson's also lucky because
it's not the star studded league. Now the final four
teams we have, their best players are all guards. So
because of the CBA and all the multiple aprons, you
can't stack the rosters, So guard, play high, iq EQ,
(02:16):
distribute the ball, Halliburton, Jalen Brunson. That kind of that
really is what the league is trying to do right now.
So sometimes the sand moves in your favor beneath your feet.
So I just think it's really interesting. In fact, let's
go to Rick Buker with that. He's joining us now
live Rick Buker as we get ready for the Western
(02:37):
Conference finals tonight, Rick, we were saying this is that
I've always thought Brunson was a soft one, probably a two.
His shot making against Detroit and Boston, and I'm like, well,
you can't have stack rosters like those days are over.
Do you view him now as a legitimate big time one?
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Legitimate big time one?
Speaker 5 (03:02):
Do I see him as a guy who could possibly
win a championship as a guard? That, to me is
the question, because I've consistently said no, we've never seen
a guy that size, that limited in athletic ability be
able to be the best player on a championship team.
But as you noted, we're in different times right now,
(03:23):
and there's going to be a guard led team that
is going to win a championship this year. By default,
and I think some of it is just because of
the way that the game has changed, at least for
what we're seeing right now. It reminds me of conversation
I had four or five years ago with Sam Presty,
the GM of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he felt
(03:46):
then that because of the way the game was being played,
that it was being played more up tempo, faster, that
it was no longer going to be a star driven
a league in terms of playing for a championship. That
depth and versatility was going to be the key to
be to be a contender. And I think that's exactly
(04:07):
what we're seeing with all three teams where are all
four teams including New York.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
The reason New York is where it is.
Speaker 5 (04:14):
Is because Tips has come off of his I'm only
gonna play five and a half guys, having Mitchell Robinson
in the rotation, Milesbrough, Miles McBride getting regular minutes. All
of that has expanded their rotation and as a result,
they've survived to this point. So I've had to amend
my perspective, as I have had to a couple of
(04:38):
times over covering the league where there's a big enough
shift where you say, you know what, We've never seen
this before, but we may see it for the first time.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
So I actually think okay C is gonna They're kind
of built to give Aunt a little bit of trouble.
They got length, they got versatility, they got a lot
of guys, they have a lot of bodies. I think
it's a seven game series. I'll take okac home court advantage.
Minnesota didn't have as much rest, has more rest to it.
I don't think it matters with Okac's versatility, but I
(05:07):
do think Ant has been a big star slayer. It
could be Luca, it could be Lebron, it could be
Steph this is what he's done Durant and Booker. I
think OKC is kind of built to give Ant a
little trouble.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
What say you, I'd say that they're built to give
him a lot of trouble, and his performance during the
regular season as a reflection of that, he averaged five
points below his average against Okac only shot thirty six percent.
They've been the OKAC has been, without questioning, the number
one defense in the postseason to this point.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
As you said, they have a lot of.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
Different bodies that they that they can throw at at him,
But they can also kind of confuse the floor, and
that's where Ant traditionally has problems, where he has to
kind of figure out exactly what is the defense doing
in these situations, it tends to make him tentative. So
when I look at the combination of the two, along
(06:07):
with the fact that I believe that OKC has had
to play the Denver Nuggets did them a big favor.
They had to play consistently good to great basketball in
order to get through that series.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
They've had to play playoff basketball.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
I would argue that Minnesota is a bit delusional in
terms of the level of basketball that they've played. They've
had two gentlemen sweeps and that might lead them to
believe that they're playing great basketball. I haven't seen that,
and I certainly haven't seen it consistently over the course.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
Of a game.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
I think they've played hard maybe thirty eight thirty nine
minutes out of every forty eight, and that's not going
to cut it against Oklahoma City. From a talent perspective,
I believe that Minnesota can go toe to toe, and
I'm hoping that it'll be a seven game series. But
if OKC make short work of Minnesota, I will not
(07:02):
be surprised.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
So you know, there's a lot of yawnis discussion, and
we don't know where he's going to go. But I said,
Denver feels like they're in danger of becoming the Bucks,
where they have one great player and they get old
and expensive really fast. And I said the other day,
I said, I don't think the Warriors are First of all,
they've drafted two guys Pods and Post, who can both
(07:25):
play in that ecosystem. Butler and Curry's history is and
Draymond they're generally good playoff performers.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
And Kaminga was.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Good enough without staff that there is a market for him.
I'm not sure what it is, but if they can
get a big that's reasonable. I don't think they're a
championship team. I think Denver could be Milwaukee if they
don't make moves. Where are you on the Warriors and
the Kaminga trade piece because we got I mean, somebody said,
(07:53):
oh oh, let's go get Brook Lopez. I'm like, time out.
We don't need another mid thirty year old guy. That's
not the answer.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Yeah, right, And they may have to give up Cominga.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
They may have to give up Moody and kaminga another young,
you know, fairly productive guy.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Where are you on the Warriors today? Going forward?
Speaker 5 (08:09):
I think they'll still be competitive. I think that they'll
be kind of where they've been, which is they're a
playing team, fringe grabbing that last playoff spot, but not
necessarily or by any means, quite honestly being a playoff contender.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
They're not going to fall off.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
The cliff the way we saw the Lakers with Kobe
toward the end, because to your point, the supporting cast
is a little bit better than that, and I just
don't think that Steph and Draymond are going to stick
around that much longer. I think it's we're going to
see a year two of them being very competitive or
as competitive as they've been, and then it'll be time
(08:47):
for the Warriors to turn the page and go in
another direction. With Denver, I'm with you there in terms
of if I'm looking at them, I clear the decks
I'm looking at I've got Nikola Jokic, and I I'm
redoing the rest of that team, even if it means
that I have to sort of take a step back
for a year or even possibly two. In terms of
(09:08):
restoring my ability to play for a title.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
I want to go back to Indiana and the Knicks.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Indiana plays fast, in fact, the last three years fastest
paced team in the league. The Knicks conversely last two
years of the slowest paced team. But again, I think
the NBA, you know, the nick slow pace benefited them
against Boston, may have hurt them a little against Detroit
because they kind of played into Detroit's hands.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
But what do you see.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
As you, you know, juxtaposed these two fastest paced, slowest pace?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Yeah, and I.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Think I think, I think think he to Indiana has
been through the playoffs, They've controlled the pace of all
the games they've played. Yes, they have what do you
think it lands with the Knicks.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Physicality and the ability to control the tempo is going
to mean everything in that series.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
There's there's no doubt about it. Indiana.
Speaker 5 (09:56):
I just believe that people are really sleeping on how
good they are.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
They are legit Andrew Nemhart, Aaron Nee Smith.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
They just have a bunch of guys on the perimeter
that most people don't know about who are legit players.
And then Pascal Siakam probably the most understated star that
you can have so it really is going to be
a matter of matchups and pace. I have the Knicks
coming out of that series, but I think that this
(10:26):
is going to be a real dogfight. And again, this
is what's kind of entertaining about these playoffs in general,
is I can't wait to see these first game ones.
Much like the previous some of the previous series, it's like,
I think I know where these teams are, but the
styles are so different. I need to see who's able
to impose their will on the other team to really
(10:48):
have a feel for which way the series is going
to go.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
So David Stern inherited the league from Larry O'Brien and
it didn't have star appeal. It wasn't dynamic, and so
I understood he wanted collections of stars together. It was
great for him in fact, in fact, you know, the
Duncan dynasty hurt them. Shaq and Kobe was great, the
(11:13):
Bulls the best team ever, the stack Lakers or Celtics.
But that's because he inherited a league that didn't have that.
The seventies NBA was a collection of good players, mostly
not playing together. Silver inherits the NBA off of David
Stern's league, which is stacked rosters. So I've argued, this
is finally with a new CBA, this is Adam's league.
(11:36):
This is exactly what he wants. Do you think it
works because Stern knew the seventies didn't work with all
the parody. Do you think this works going forward?
Speaker 5 (11:48):
Yeah, but it's a brand, it's We're in a totally
different place. I think what David Stern did, what David
Stern needed to do was he needed to get America
to watch the NBA. And the way to attract the
mainstream audience in America was to have recognizable names and
a recognizable team that everybody was interested in watching. But
(12:14):
while dynasties have worked for the NBA, parody has not.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Over the last twenty or so years.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
The fact is that they've never worked better than they
did with Michael Jordan and the Bulls. It's been diminishing
returns ever since. Still better than the parody years, but
nonetheless not quite as good the zenith was with Michael
and the Bulls.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
What Adam has.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Inherited is a league that is looking at it and saying, Okay,
we've gotten the most we can out of out of
the American audience. Where and we're never going to beat
the NFL. Where can we expand in a way? Where's
where is our sweet spot? And it really is globally,
and so parody works on that. If you're selling a
(13:06):
product to an audience that by and large isn't necessarily
going to be watching games, and if they are, they're
going to be streaming them, then you.
Speaker 4 (13:17):
Want an array of flavors.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
It's a little bit like having They've been the convenience
store and they wanted everybody come into the convenience store
when David Stern was running it. Now it's like, we
want to appeal to everybody for everything. We got to
build target, We got to build our big box building
and a drawing an audience that way, because that's our
advantage over the other professional leagues in the United States.
(13:42):
That's what Adam Silver is doing. So if I can
sell a million OKC jerseys this year, and I can
sell a million Timberwolves jerseys next year, and I can
get that global audience to be buying into all the
different teams that I have, I have a better chance
of expanding my audience than simply having everybody wanting to
(14:02):
watch Lebron.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
I'm gonna take Indiana in six, OKC in seven.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Where are you on that?
Speaker 4 (14:08):
That's not a bad that's not a bad call.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
As I said at the very beginning, like i'd like
to see, uh I think OKAC is coming out of
out of the West. That that's that's probably my prohibitive favorite.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
And I'm leaning New York.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
But as I said, I would not be the least
bit surprised if the Pacers pull off what I consider
her upset.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
All right, Rick Buker as always buddy, great senior.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
You got it.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, I mean I you know, not all dynasties work
for the league. You know, the Tim Duncan uh Man
who Genobili Tony Parker dynasty didn't work and it wasn't
really a market size that Duncan was sort of uh
personality less uh Man who was off the bench, and
it was just a they weren't high draft picks, you know,
man who I think was second round, Tony Parker end
(14:54):
of the first and Duncan's nickname was the Big Fundamental.
It doesn't it doesn't scream Tom Cruise or Denzel. It
was the Big Fundamental. So I've said this Alabama's dynasty
I didn't think helped college football. It made it too regional.
You know you're not going to get a dynasty in
a small market. In baseball, I think the NFL it
(15:15):
doesn't really matter. I say that, I do think the
Chiefs have a big enough brand that are in the
middle of the country. I don't think Jacksonville is a
dynasty would be great for the league.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
I think they're not as popular as the Buccaneers the
Dolphins in their own state, so I'm not even that
popular in their own town. They tarped off the upper
deck and portions of it. So I do think in
the NFL you don't need New York. In baseball, you
do need New York. In the NBA you.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Don't need New York.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
I don't think Utah OKC being the reigning dynasty in
the NBA would necessarily help. But don't forget remember this
Jordan against the Jazz is that still today the highest
rated NBA Finals. It may be so Utah's got a
basketball brand. It almost feels collegiate, as does OKAC with
(16:03):
her fervor, and it's a small town.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
We'll see how it plays out.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
One more heard. The herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search her
to listen live or on demand whenever you like. So
here's the official story.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever against Chicago drew two
point seven million viewers. It's the most watched WNBA regular
season game in twenty five years. You know, don't listen
to the grifters out there that want to make this
like a racial story. The bottom line is her game pops.
She's a combination of Steph Curry and Jason Kidd. She's
(16:43):
making sixty foot passes in twenty nine footers. Frankly, she
has She plays a little bit like a guy. We've
never seen a woman shoot twenty eight footers. Her passing,
it looks like an NBA Jason Kidden is prime. It's
just a different looking game. Doesn't matter if it's Lamar
Jackson or Josh Allen, they both look different.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
They play.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
I don't care if it's Morgan Wallen or Beyonce. They
both sell out a tour. Who cares. People want unique,
they want different. Her game pops well. The racial component.
Diana Tarassi Sue Byrd didn't pop. Cheryl Miller did. It
was her game, Cheryl Miller. What were the discussions for
(17:25):
years about Cheryl Miller?
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Could she play in the NBA?
Speaker 1 (17:29):
She was their first star, like Cheryl Miller was like,
that was a discussion. Well, she beat Reggie one on
one in the backyard.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
So this whole thing.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
When I watch her play, it doesn't look like anybody else.
The WNBA's always had this fan base before Caitlin Clark,
where the people who were fans knew everything about the league,
and then other rush of sports fans didn't know anything
about it. Very niche, very garage band, very independent movie
fan base. But she played it just jumps off television
(18:02):
and people want to make this into anything other than that.
I called her a year and a half ago. I said,
she's Taylor Swift and tennis shoes. Is Taylor Swift the
most talented musical artist. No, but she does something emotionally,
she's good enough, and she connects with people. And is
Caitlin Clark the best player in the league, Well, she's
(18:22):
the best guard. Asia Wilson's the best player. Some people
just pop. I mean, Lamar Jackson cannot win a playoff game,
I'm sorry when he's on, I can't turn the TV off.
Josh Allen can't get to a Super Bowl. I can't
turn the TV off. Too many people are trying to
divide in my space. She's dynamic sixty foot passes. It's
(18:45):
Jason Kidd twenty eight footers, it's Steph Curry. The only
other player in my life in the WNBA that felt
like this women's player, and there's been a lot of
great ones, is Cheryl Miller, and it was her game.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
It was just different.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
We had discussions back then people did I think she
could think she could play in the NBA, Whether she
could or not, it was a discussion. And you look
at Caitlin Clark's range, it's NBA range. She is a
better shooter from twenty seven feet than most of the NBA.
And when you add that to a league that was
(19:21):
already growing, that's what it is people are. I mean,
the rivalry is great with Angel Reese because it was
born in college, like magic and birds, so that helps.
But Angel Reese is a really good player and a
great rebounder. She doesn't jump off the TV. He's just
a really good player in the League's got a bunch
of those, but two point seven million viewers regular season most.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Viewed gave ever in twenty five years. Here's j Mack
with the news.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
No, no turn on the news. This is the herd
Line News.
Speaker 6 (19:56):
All right, let's start with the Raiders. That a lot
of Raiders stands out here, Colin standably. So they're excited.
They got Ashton Genty with the sixth overall pick.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
They got Geno Smith.
Speaker 6 (20:05):
Is their new quarterback, and the guy Chip Kelly is
the new oc.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Interesting on Ashton Gentis.
Speaker 6 (20:11):
Remember in at Boise he had that upright backfield's stance
or he would just stand up and kind of look
like I think they were comparing him to Michael Myers
character and Friday the thirteenth through Chase people of the knife. Well,
chip Kelly has got him to tweak it. And here
he is talking about Gent talking about his new backfield book.
Speaker 7 (20:31):
What's crazy is man chip Kelly. He comes with me
your first day at rookie minie camp. He like, you
played basketball like you ever played basketball. I'm like, yeah,
I played basketball, like you know, I could dunk all that.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
He's like okay.
Speaker 7 (20:43):
He was like, show me how you would guard me?
Like and he acting like he owned the ball. He
like showed me how you guard me. He owned the ball,
like act like you own the ball and boom, I'm
like you know what, and he was like, that's exactly
why you gotta be down and you're running backstands.
Speaker 6 (21:00):
There he is standing up right right right. I mean, listen,
it was funny at Boise State. I get it, but
I think Tip Kelly's gone to something you probably got
to well. Getting him a stands like a running If.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
You're standing and I told you to run, you need
a step to start running. If you're leaning forward in
the chair that basketball is called the chair stands, you
don't need a step.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
You are running.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
So the truth is you get off to a quicker
start crouched overstanding. And also he's already a small running back.
Crouching makes him harder to see for safeties, so like
there's an aesthetic to it as well.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
Yeah, it's interesting, Jens.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
I don't know what to make of him.
Speaker 6 (21:43):
Colin Kitty again, he was like a transformative player in
college football. I just is he going to really pop
and be like a fairy standers time? I mean, obviously
that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
I think he's going to be really good.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
I think it was a great running back class, and
every single stout I talked to had Genty above the class.
They like Hampton a lot as well, But I didn't
talk to the I talked to one executive in the
league who I respect, who thought he was the best player. Wow,
because of Travis Hunter having to play both. He goes,
(22:15):
you have to pick what he is. He goes, if
you're telling me positionally what player is best at his
singular position, he said, I would take Ashton Genty. And
by the way, everybody else I talked to had him
like four three six. Yeah, so I think he's gonna pop.
I beat Carroll knows personnel, so does Chip Kelly. I
think he's gonna pop.
Speaker 6 (22:34):
So I'm just curious this offensive skill position. Guys, right,
they got Genty in the backfield. Their receivers are Jakobe Myers,
Trey Tucker, and then the young kid Jack Beach tight
end is Ballad.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (22:47):
It feels like they're going to be defended in a
box because they don't have really a stretch the field guy,
unless you think that's Tucker. So they could be easy
to defend, if that makes sense sense.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Yeah, I think any team.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Yeah, I mean, I don't think they're a great team,
but I think they will be so much better at
quarterback and so much better at running back, popping and
head coach. I think I said I said this last year.
If the Vikings finished fourth, they didn't, it would be
the best fourth place team ever.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
The Raiders last year.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
And they were as bad as any team and only
get quarterback gave the Chiefs fits twice. They will be
the Raiders if they finished fourth, will easily be the
best fourth place team in the division. I don't think
there's any question in the in the in the.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
League, in the league, let's stick in.
Speaker 6 (23:35):
The AFC talk about another rookie, and that's the Jags
trading up for Travis Hunter, the second overall pick. Now
that gives Trevor Lawrence a pretty nice weapon on the
outside to pair with game breaker Bryan Thomas Jr. Hunter
and Lawrence are now practicing together, and Trevor Lawrence took
to the podium to break down his thoughts on mister Hunter's.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Got a lot of jews.
Speaker 8 (23:58):
Can he can run all day?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
A lot of energy.
Speaker 8 (24:00):
I love it, good energy, always dabbing guys up, just
bringing juice every day, and like I said, high motor
can just go. It's like a kid just runs around
all day. He doesn't get tired, it seems like, so
you can't have enough of that. And then as far
as just talent, I mean kind of speaks for his self,
ball skills, run after the catch, he's very explosive.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
She didn't realize how exposive he was.
Speaker 8 (24:19):
In and out of cuts. You know, he's he's impressive
to watch. And we've gotten to connect a couple of times.
It's so longly gonna keep getting better and better. You know,
we've only worked together for a couple of days now,
so we got some time to really dial in on
the details.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Another reason I want Travis Hunter to play offense. You've
got to validate that Trevor Lawrence contract, honestly, like you've
got to. You've got to now listen, at this point,
he hasn't earned the money. At this point, he hasn't
been worth it. It's somebody I always said this about Dak,
the reason that George Pickens move works. If you're gonna
pay Dak that kind of money, you got to get
something out of it. You got to get good numbers
(24:50):
out of it and picking his short term works. So
I think Trevor Lawrence and I was a huge fan
out of college, I think it's fair to say he's
been a big disappointment now.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
I think he's plaid.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
I think he is what he is, and what he
is just isn't good enough. When c. J. Stroud's in
your division.
Speaker 6 (25:03):
Well, when you compared to like Andrew Lucket, you know
it's generational talent.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
Yeah, you've been a lotdown.
Speaker 6 (25:08):
But regarding Lawrence Colin, like he's been pretty solid. He
just hasn't been in otherworldly I mean, how many coaches
does the guy had, Like what great receivers has he had? Like, again,
he hasn't been put in a position to succeed and
ask for the contract. I thought you always said with contracts,
you're paying for what you think he'll deliver in the future.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Not his past.
Speaker 6 (25:29):
And like I think he could easily be a fifty
five million other Pom.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
You don't think, Well, he's been dinged up. He hasn't
won a lot of big games.
Speaker 6 (25:37):
He had to come back against the Church, and you
gotta be.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Honest, it's probably arguably the weakest division in football, and
you can't let C. J. Stroud come in and own it.
Who came into a terrible organization last year at the
worst oal line in the league and won the division again?
You put him in the AFC Wester or NFC North.
Trevor Lawrence is finished in fourth. You have to you
(26:00):
got to add context.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
To all this stuff.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
He at this point, and I'm a fan, has not
been worth the money yet. I think he's a great kid.
Speaker 6 (26:08):
Who do you think has been better so far? And
who do you think you would trust more going forward?
Trevor Lawrence or Jordan.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Loves Jordan loves.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
No.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
Wow, Okay, all.
Speaker 6 (26:20):
Right, my fair not even could argue that that's crazy. Well,
let's go to baseball college. We haven't talked Dodgers in
a minute, and they're kind of on the struggle bus.
They got a home run from Otani last night, but
they still lost to the Diamondbacks and LA now has
a first four game home losing streak since twenty eighteen.
Dave Roberts addressed the skid afterwards.
Speaker 9 (26:41):
It's hard to start, you know, games behind, you know
before you're taken it back. And I think the last
week we've been we have given up runs in the
first inning. So it's just, you know, we got to
thought that zero and kind of get a chance to
get the game going. But it does show something about
our offense. We continue to fight.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
You worried about your guys.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Diamondbacks have a good batting order and the Dodgers can't
get anybody out. It doesn't they've they've had, they've they
can get ugly like everybody else baseball. So long they're
fine when they're healthy and their pitching comes back and
Otani start pitching bild.
Speaker 6 (27:17):
One of my buddies out here compared them a little
bit to the Boston Celtics who won the title last year.
Had a stack roster, everybody loves them, and then Boston
kind of went through the Motions, didn't even win the
East in the regular season, and now got bounced in
the second round. Is there a parallel there, you think
Dodgers and Celtics.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
No, I don't. I think I think you.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I think you have to look at baseball and just
the really good teams with the really high payrolls. They're
all aiming for September. That's what they care about. They
want to be healthy in September. They just want to
get through you know, they're just trying to get through
it healthy, get your arms healthy. I don't take anything
from it. They've just they pull behind and they can't
(28:01):
get anybody out. Jay McK of the news, Well that's the.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
News, and thanks for stopping that. The herd Line News.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
I saw this is interesting.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
So in the history of the NFL, I don't remember
a quarterback room that was weirder than the Cleveland Browns.
So it's Deshaun Watson, who's hurt, nobody likes and won't play.
Two rookies drafted Dylan Gabriel and schedu Her Sanders, sort
of a cast off who was a whiff in Pittsburgh,
(28:38):
didn't do much in Philadelphia, Kenny Pickett, and the likable
aged Joe Flacco, who's at the end the twilight, the
very twilight of his career, but he wins more games
than you think and he's got big size, big arm,
really good for the locker room.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
So it just to me. So they have OTA's in
a week.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
They just had mini camp and I saw a story
this week I thought was odd where Kenny Pickett will
take first team stamps and I thought time out. I
don't think he's as good as Flaco. Recently, he hasn't been.
Kenny Pickett's been bad as an NFL quarterback against good
(29:19):
teams like not even backup bad, can have him in
the building bad, And I'm going to I'll lay it
out there there are five quarterbacks for the Browns. I'm
gonna argue Flacco starts, shaduor Sanders wins the job. The
one thing I've always said about Shadeur Sanders is he
(29:39):
didn't win a lot in college. But if you look
at the ranked opponents they played, and he had a
terrible old line nineteen touchdowns, four picks, completed seventy percent
of his throws for almost three hundred yards a game.
He was a good big game player. He couldn't win
because he was overwhelmed and running for his life with
no run game. This whole Kenny Pickett story. The hard
(30:05):
part about this story is I think the owner who
wanted to draft Baker Manzel and signed Deshan Watson, I
think the owner like Schaduur more than Stefanski, wanted to
draft him. That's why they drafted Dylan Gabriel two rounds
before so they wouldn't have to draft and get into
the Shador sweepstakes, but Dylan Gabriel is not going to
(30:26):
get cut at OTAs and either a Shaduur. Jeff Schwartz
talked about the Brown situation, and he's probably right.
Speaker 10 (30:34):
There's just not enough reps calling unless you Dur is
that good early on, he's that much better than Flackker,
which he probably won't be in practice, right Flatko has
done this a long time now, so you basically would
have to give him the job, saying hey man, we
just see so much of practice, there's not a lot
to see in games yet will give him jumps. I
think early on it's probably Flaco Picket whoever wins that job,
and then the primary backup will just be the winner
(30:56):
of the Sanders Gabriel.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Well, if that's the case, shaudor Sanders is a much
better pro prospect than Dylan Gabriel. So my money is
Flacco beats out Picket and then Shaduur is the backup
and becomes the starter very quickly. The other reason that
Shaduur is safe is that the owner likes him. Because
we're not talking about the Cleveland Browns with Joe Burrow
(31:20):
and Lamar Jackson and the Steelers brand without Shaduur Sanders.
So it's really weird. You never have this many quarterbacks around.
You know the kid they drafted, Dylan Gabriel, I showed
you a picture last week. I just I don't think
he's a starting NFL quarterback. I don't think Kenny Pickett is.
And at this point, Deshaun Watson's not so to me,
(31:42):
Flaco and Shuduer Sanders are your options. So that's my bet.
Flaco wins the job, Shoudur wins the backup. And you
don't have to like Shudur Sanders. But if Dion would
have never spoke, would have never said the things he
said during Super Bowl week, there's no way Shador Sanders
(32:02):
drops past the middle of the second round. You don't
have to love him, but a fifth round quarterback is
viewed solely as a backup. I can't believe everybody in
the league thinks he has no chance to be a
starting quarterback. I just don't believe it. Go look at
Shadur's numbers against ranked teams with a pretty modest supporting
(32:23):
staff on the old line in the run game, it's
the hurt.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays
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Speaker 11 (32:35):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together We're
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Speaker 4 (32:47):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 11 (32:49):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
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(33:09):
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that's Covino and Rich breaks.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
It's hard to figure out.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Too many people you don't want to get, you know,
they want to create this Caitlin Clark drama that doesn't
really exist. The reason she just broke a WNBA ratings record.
And it's interesting what pops in America. I'll give you
an example. My son started playing Minecraft, you know, back
in about twenty fourteen, and the movie if you take
(33:55):
out Minecraft, the movie right now from Hollywood, it's been
a terrible year. Like Minecraft is saving Hollywood, like Oppenheimer
and Barbie did a few years ago. So Minecraft started
in Sweden and my son was on it, like every
day he and his buddies were on Minecraft from Sweden.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
I can't explain it.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
I think Caitlin Clark her only comp is Tiger Woods.
People were not watching golf, and then Tiger Woods double
the numbers. I mean they were watching the Masters in
Jack and Arnie. But like he brought a whole new audience.
And now you could say Michael Jordan, but Michael Jordan
took a few years. You know, people forget this about
Michael Jordan. He won a Natty at Carolina his first year.
(34:38):
He stayed in college for two more years. Hey, he
didn't get that. He wasn't winning championships his last two years,
so you kind of forgot about him. I remember when
he didn't go number one, he went number three. Remember
Portland had Clyde Drexler and passed on him. There wasn't
a national outrage for Michael Jordan. And then he went
to Chicago and the Bulls were Orlando Warridge, Quentin Daily.
(35:02):
They're a mess of a franchise. Jordan didn't take over
the league. At that point. The Celtics were popular and
the Lakers were pot Michael Jordan took time to become
like this. The fervor around him, you know, Lebron, the
NBA was already established on TV. He didn't save the league.
(35:22):
He didn't double the ratings. Connor McGregor was more gasoline
on the fire for UFC, but it was always it
was already the fastest growing sport. You had Chuck Ledell,
You had people people that knew about UFC. Now, Connor
McGregor became their rock star, but it was already growing
like wildfire. There have been a couple of musical acts
(35:42):
that were just immediate hits.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
At least they feel immediate.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Garth Brooks I can remember now U two en rolling Stones,
the Eagles over time sold out. But Garth Brooks got
hot fast, Beyonce hot fast, Taylor Swift little slower growth.
But there's there's there's There's not a lot out there
like Tiger Woods and Caitlin Clark. That's the comp where
we didn't watch something and now we watch it all
(36:07):
the time.
Speaker 3 (36:08):
I never talked.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
WNBA, the people who are opinionists in this country. He
hadn't talk WNBA. It was nothing against the WNBA. It
wasn't interesting enough. It just didn't have superstar players. It
just had a bunch of you know, good players. The
game wasn't that fascinating. It's really something to watch. The
merchandise sales. I mean to be able to take a
league that flew commercial and get it on private flight
(36:33):
first year. That's Tiger, that's not Lebron, that's not Connor McGregor,
that's not even Taylor Swift. So what we're seeing here,
and I'll give the WNBA credit, They had no idea
how popular she was going to be even Steph Curry
as popular as he was, there was a real argument
(36:54):
in the Bay Area whether to keep Monteelis or Steph Curry,
Like that was the people talked about that, Like Jerry
West was like, if you don't keep if you don't
keep staff, you're out of your mind. But Montelis was
hyper athletic. He was fun to watch. I think they
were a playoff team, like people were watching the Warriors,
Michael Jordan. When Michael last two years in the tournament,
(37:17):
people were more enamored with the If I recall NC
State and Jim Volmano, they weren't. They weren't the best
team in his college state in one of his last years,
if I recall, so, there's nothing like this. And again
Connor McRuer was big, but the UFC was growing and
(37:37):
had a rabid fan base and was selled out arenas.
So I don't I don't even I don't know how
to explain it. It's like it's Minecraft. Worldwide gross box
office is nearly a billion dollars. It's in the top
seventy five of grossing movies of all time. And it
was a video game. And if you had a young son,
I can't. I can't. My daughter didn't play. If you
(37:58):
had a young son in the last ten years, they
had to be on Minecraft. My son was easily distracted
except for Minecraft. So I think the WNBA, to their credit,
they were overwhelmed the first year. They just it was
like Ticketmaster not having enough tickets for certain acts. Sometimes
(38:20):
things pop in this country and I can't explain it.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Like I'll say this about Taylor Swift. She's great. My
daughter years and years ago. It's weird happenstance.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
My daughter fifteen years ago, I said, who's your favorite
musical act? She goes, oh, I love Taylor Swift, and
I said, you know, it's funny. Her dad works with
a friend of mine in Nashville, and she sent an
autograph picture with a pick. I'm not really into that stuff,
but my daughter had it in her room. She probably
still has it somewhere. And that was like, oh, because
you know, I didn't, but I didn't know who Taylor
(38:51):
Swift was. And even when I listened to Taylor Swift
now it doesn't it doesn't like move me like it's not.
And there's been a lot of Amy winingart and I
was like, oh, lady Gaga. I mean there have been
is that Amy Wininguard Amy Winehouse my bad, There's been
music I've listened to a lot of MORI set came out.
(39:13):
I was like, Oh, that's gravelly, that's rough. That works
for me. I don't really get the Taylor Swift thing.
I think it's a movement. A lot of stuff I
don't get, and it pops.
Speaker 3 (39:26):
I'll tell you.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
With Caitlin Clark, I don't think it's that hard. She's
shooting twenty eight footers women didn't. She takes NBA three
pointers and she passes like Jason Kidd, and I think
whether it's some emotional connection. She played in the Midwest.
I don't know if that's it. A lot of people
played in the Midwest. I do think what has helped
women's basketball and has hurt men's basketball is that women
(39:50):
stay in college for three or four years and develop rivalries,
so we have some level of emotional attachment. And you know,
the NBA or every other NBA draft is all European
guys at the top. I didn't watch them play out them.
I'm not watching Ducal Dwarf on YouTube.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
I don't know who they are.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
This year's Draft with Cooper Flag and the Rutgers guys
will be more domestic, but it's we don't get these
a lot. It may be every half decade in America.
I remember Sopranos. Sopranos hit and there are very few
TV shows that change my lifestyle. But Tiger Woods got
me to a TV on Sundays. Sopranos got me to it.
Speaker 3 (40:31):
I like mob stuff.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Very few TV shows have ever changed. I remember when
I was in college. I think it was Cheers on
Thursday night everybody, because you all went to bars in college.
Cheers got me to a TV. Sopranos got me to
a TV. Caitlin Clark does. She's got that sticky quality.
Speaker 6 (40:51):
Yeah, no, for sure. There is a parallel to Curry
that I think you brought up. Curry went to Davidson
small college, was slaying the big dogs. I know Iowa
not small, but in the college basketball world.
Speaker 4 (41:02):
They're small.
Speaker 6 (41:02):
Caitlin Clark was taking down all the big dogs and
taking down records, and I think people got behind that.
Speaker 3 (41:08):
We love an underdog in this country.
Speaker 4 (41:09):
Colin, you know that, okay.
Speaker 6 (41:11):
And Kitlin Clark, with the ball in her hands all
the time, is doing magical stuff. And that's one of
the things that like, you know, some of the angel reades,
for example, she sitn't have the ball in her hands
all the time. She needs to get the ball to
do something. Caitlin Clark always has the ball dribbling circles
around everybody.
Speaker 4 (41:25):
Phenomenal story. I'll tell you.
Speaker 6 (41:27):
You know, my daughter plays some hoops. As soon as
the WNBA schedule came out, my wife and daughter were like,
when is Caitlin Clark coming to play the LA Sparks.
We want to go to the game again this year.
So like, that's that's not happening. That's never happened before
in our family, Like we just haven't gone to a
WNBA game before.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
Caitlin Clark.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
Well, I remember when Taylor Swift was in Los Angeles.
I think she played six or seven shows at sofar
all sold out. You would go to restaurants in LA
that week and you would see tables of eight to
ten to twelve women having dinner before they went to
the show, all messed up, middle aged women, young women.
I'm like, okay, I've never seen this. This is a phenomenon.
I don't even know how to explain it.
Speaker 3 (42:05):
Coward freedo
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go, it's our number two. We are live.
This is the Herd. The Western Conference Finals. Feels like
the Eastern Conference Finals should start tonight, but it's the
Western Conference Finals starting tonight. J Mac, you know I'm
gonna get to Rick Bucher in a couple of minutes.
But it's interesting that I was listening to during the break,
(00:48):
I was listening to a SoundBite from Jay Wright, who's
a CBS broadcaster who's the great coach at Villanover Forever.
A night when I got a job in Vegas, he
was Tark was replaced by Rolie Massa and Jay Wright
he was the assistant, so he struck a friendship.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
He's a great guy.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
But in his bite he was saying, I had no
idea Jalen Brunson was going to be this good of
an NBA player. So like when people project, you just
don't know. And I've said they have totally different games.
But Bruns and is Steve Nash. I watched them in college,
really good college players, good, not superstars. Then they go
(01:25):
to an NBA and they've got one's got Luca, one's
got Dirk as the best player.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
They're the two.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
And then one goes to Phoenix, gets the perfect coach,
Mike dan Coney. One goes to New York and gets
a defensive coach, Tibbs, and they totally popped. Nobody thought
Nash was going to be a back to back MVP
or he won two MVPs. Nobody thought that, and nobody
thought Bruns. And even if you thought he was a one,
you didn't think he was like a one to one,
like the great.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Closer in the fourth.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
And it just goes to show if you give people opportunities,
you give them the right fit, you give them the
right guidance and the roster. Now Brunson's also lucky because
it's not the star studded league. Now the final four
teams we have, their best players are all guards. So
because of the CBA and all the multiple aprons, you
can't stack the rosters, So guard, play high, iq EQ,
(02:16):
distribute the ball, Halliburton, Jalen Brunson. That kind of that
really is what the league is trying to do right now.
So sometimes the sand moves in your favor beneath your feet.
So I just think it's really interesting. In fact, let's
go to Rick Buker with that. He's joining us now
live Rick Buker as we get ready for the Western
(02:37):
Conference finals tonight, Rick, we were saying this is that
I've always thought Brunson was a soft one, probably a two.
His shot making against Detroit and Boston, and I'm like, well,
you can't have stack rosters like those days are over.
Do you view him now as a legitimate big time one?
Speaker 4 (03:01):
Legitimate big time one?
Speaker 5 (03:02):
Do I see him as a guy who could possibly
win a championship as a guard? That, to me is
the question, because I've consistently said no, we've never seen
a guy that size, that limited in athletic ability be
able to be the best player on a championship team.
But as you noted, we're in different times right now,
(03:23):
and there's going to be a guard led team that
is going to win a championship this year. By default,
and I think some of it is just because of
the way that the game has changed, at least for
what we're seeing right now. It reminds me of conversation
I had four or five years ago with Sam Presty,
the GM of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he felt
(03:46):
then that because of the way the game was being played,
that it was being played more up tempo, faster, that
it was no longer going to be a star driven
a league in terms of playing for a championship. That
depth and versatility was going to be the key to
be to be a contender. And I think that's exactly
(04:07):
what we're seeing with all three teams where are all
four teams including New York.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
The reason New York is where it is.
Speaker 5 (04:14):
Is because Tips has come off of his I'm only
gonna play five and a half guys, having Mitchell Robinson
in the rotation, Milesbrough, Miles McBride getting regular minutes. All
of that has expanded their rotation and as a result,
they've survived to this point. So I've had to amend
my perspective, as I have had to a couple of
(04:38):
times over covering the league where there's a big enough
shift where you say, you know what, We've never seen
this before, but we may see it for the first time.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
So I actually think okay C is gonna They're kind
of built to give Aunt a little bit of trouble.
They got length, they got versatility, they got a lot
of guys, they have a lot of bodies. I think
it's a seven game series. I'll take okac home court advantage.
Minnesota didn't have as much rest, has more rest to it.
I don't think it matters with Okac's versatility, but I
(05:07):
do think Ant has been a big star slayer. It
could be Luca, it could be Lebron, it could be
Steph this is what he's done Durant and Booker. I
think OKC is kind of built to give Ant a
little trouble.
Speaker 5 (05:22):
What say you, I'd say that they're built to give
him a lot of trouble, and his performance during the
regular season as a reflection of that, he averaged five
points below his average against Okac only shot thirty six percent.
They've been the OKAC has been, without questioning, the number
one defense in the postseason to this point.
Speaker 4 (05:44):
As you said, they have a lot of.
Speaker 5 (05:46):
Different bodies that they that they can throw at at him,
But they can also kind of confuse the floor, and
that's where Ant traditionally has problems, where he has to
kind of figure out exactly what is the defense doing
in these situations, it tends to make him tentative. So
when I look at the combination of the two, along
(06:07):
with the fact that I believe that OKC has had
to play the Denver Nuggets did them a big favor.
They had to play consistently good to great basketball in
order to get through that series.
Speaker 4 (06:20):
They've had to play playoff basketball.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
I would argue that Minnesota is a bit delusional in
terms of the level of basketball that they've played. They've
had two gentlemen sweeps and that might lead them to
believe that they're playing great basketball. I haven't seen that,
and I certainly haven't seen it consistently over the course.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
Of a game.
Speaker 5 (06:41):
I think they've played hard maybe thirty eight thirty nine
minutes out of every forty eight, and that's not going
to cut it against Oklahoma City. From a talent perspective,
I believe that Minnesota can go toe to toe, and
I'm hoping that it'll be a seven game series. But
if OKC make short work of Minnesota, I will not
(07:02):
be surprised.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
So you know, there's a lot of yawnis discussion, and
we don't know where he's going to go. But I said,
Denver feels like they're in danger of becoming the Bucks,
where they have one great player and they get old
and expensive really fast. And I said the other day,
I said, I don't think the Warriors are First of all,
they've drafted two guys Pods and Post, who can both
(07:25):
play in that ecosystem. Butler and Curry's history is and
Draymond they're generally good playoff performers.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
And Kaminga was.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
Good enough without staff that there is a market for him.
I'm not sure what it is, but if they can
get a big that's reasonable. I don't think they're a
championship team. I think Denver could be Milwaukee if they
don't make moves. Where are you on the Warriors and
the Kaminga trade piece because we got I mean, somebody said,
(07:53):
oh oh, let's go get Brook Lopez. I'm like, time out.
We don't need another mid thirty year old guy. That's
not the answer.
Speaker 3 (07:58):
Yeah, right, And they may have to give up Cominga.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
They may have to give up Moody and kaminga another young,
you know, fairly productive guy.
Speaker 3 (08:06):
Where are you on the Warriors today? Going forward?
Speaker 5 (08:09):
I think they'll still be competitive. I think that they'll
be kind of where they've been, which is they're a
playing team, fringe grabbing that last playoff spot, but not
necessarily or by any means, quite honestly being a playoff contender.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
They're not going to fall off.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
The cliff the way we saw the Lakers with Kobe
toward the end, because to your point, the supporting cast
is a little bit better than that, and I just
don't think that Steph and Draymond are going to stick
around that much longer. I think it's we're going to
see a year two of them being very competitive or
as competitive as they've been, and then it'll be time
(08:47):
for the Warriors to turn the page and go in
another direction. With Denver, I'm with you there in terms
of if I'm looking at them, I clear the decks
I'm looking at I've got Nikola Jokic, and I I'm
redoing the rest of that team, even if it means
that I have to sort of take a step back
for a year or even possibly two. In terms of
(09:08):
restoring my ability to play for a title.
Speaker 3 (09:12):
I want to go back to Indiana and the Knicks.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Indiana plays fast, in fact, the last three years fastest
paced team in the league. The Knicks conversely last two
years of the slowest paced team. But again, I think
the NBA, you know, the nick slow pace benefited them
against Boston, may have hurt them a little against Detroit
because they kind of played into Detroit's hands.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
But what do you see.
Speaker 1 (09:35):
As you, you know, juxtaposed these two fastest paced, slowest pace?
Speaker 2 (09:39):
Yeah, and I.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Think I think, I think think he to Indiana has
been through the playoffs, They've controlled the pace of all
the games they've played. Yes, they have what do you
think it lands with the Knicks.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
Physicality and the ability to control the tempo is going
to mean everything in that series.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
There's there's no doubt about it. Indiana.
Speaker 5 (09:56):
I just believe that people are really sleeping on how
good they are.
Speaker 4 (10:01):
They are legit Andrew Nemhart, Aaron Nee Smith.
Speaker 5 (10:05):
They just have a bunch of guys on the perimeter
that most people don't know about who are legit players.
And then Pascal Siakam probably the most understated star that
you can have so it really is going to be
a matter of matchups and pace. I have the Knicks
coming out of that series, but I think that this
(10:26):
is going to be a real dogfight. And again, this
is what's kind of entertaining about these playoffs in general,
is I can't wait to see these first game ones.
Much like the previous some of the previous series, it's like,
I think I know where these teams are, but the
styles are so different. I need to see who's able
to impose their will on the other team to really
(10:48):
have a feel for which way the series is going
to go.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
So David Stern inherited the league from Larry O'Brien and
it didn't have star appeal. It wasn't dynamic, and so
I understood he wanted collections of stars together. It was
great for him in fact, in fact, you know, the
Duncan dynasty hurt them. Shaq and Kobe was great, the
(11:13):
Bulls the best team ever, the stack Lakers or Celtics.
But that's because he inherited a league that didn't have that.
The seventies NBA was a collection of good players, mostly
not playing together. Silver inherits the NBA off of David
Stern's league, which is stacked rosters. So I've argued, this
is finally with a new CBA, this is Adam's league.
(11:36):
This is exactly what he wants. Do you think it
works because Stern knew the seventies didn't work with all
the parody. Do you think this works going forward?
Speaker 5 (11:48):
Yeah, but it's a brand, it's We're in a totally
different place. I think what David Stern did, what David
Stern needed to do was he needed to get America
to watch the NBA. And the way to attract the
mainstream audience in America was to have recognizable names and
a recognizable team that everybody was interested in watching. But
(12:14):
while dynasties have worked for the NBA, parody has not.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Over the last twenty or so years.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
The fact is that they've never worked better than they
did with Michael Jordan and the Bulls. It's been diminishing
returns ever since. Still better than the parody years, but
nonetheless not quite as good the zenith was with Michael
and the Bulls.
Speaker 4 (12:41):
What Adam has.
Speaker 5 (12:42):
Inherited is a league that is looking at it and saying, Okay,
we've gotten the most we can out of out of
the American audience. Where and we're never going to beat
the NFL. Where can we expand in a way? Where's
where is our sweet spot? And it really is globally,
and so parody works on that. If you're selling a
(13:06):
product to an audience that by and large isn't necessarily
going to be watching games, and if they are, they're
going to be streaming them, then you.
Speaker 4 (13:17):
Want an array of flavors.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
It's a little bit like having They've been the convenience
store and they wanted everybody come into the convenience store
when David Stern was running it. Now it's like, we
want to appeal to everybody for everything. We got to
build target, We got to build our big box building
and a drawing an audience that way, because that's our
advantage over the other professional leagues in the United States.
(13:42):
That's what Adam Silver is doing. So if I can
sell a million OKC jerseys this year, and I can
sell a million Timberwolves jerseys next year, and I can
get that global audience to be buying into all the
different teams that I have, I have a better chance
of expanding my audience than simply having everybody wanting to
(14:02):
watch Lebron.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
I'm gonna take Indiana in six, OKC in seven.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Where are you on that?
Speaker 4 (14:08):
That's not a bad that's not a bad call.
Speaker 5 (14:10):
As I said at the very beginning, like i'd like
to see, uh I think OKAC is coming out of
out of the West. That that's that's probably my prohibitive favorite.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
And I'm leaning New York.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
But as I said, I would not be the least
bit surprised if the Pacers pull off what I consider
her upset.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
All right, Rick Buker as always buddy, great senior.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
You got it.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
Yeah, I mean I you know, not all dynasties work
for the league. You know, the Tim Duncan uh Man
who Genobili Tony Parker dynasty didn't work and it wasn't
really a market size that Duncan was sort of uh
personality less uh Man who was off the bench, and
it was just a they weren't high draft picks, you know,
man who I think was second round, Tony Parker end
(14:54):
of the first and Duncan's nickname was the Big Fundamental.
It doesn't it doesn't scream Tom Cruise or Denzel. It
was the Big Fundamental. So I've said this Alabama's dynasty
I didn't think helped college football. It made it too regional.
You know you're not going to get a dynasty in
a small market. In baseball, I think the NFL it
(15:15):
doesn't really matter. I say that, I do think the
Chiefs have a big enough brand that are in the
middle of the country. I don't think Jacksonville is a
dynasty would be great for the league.
Speaker 3 (15:24):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
I think they're not as popular as the Buccaneers the
Dolphins in their own state, so I'm not even that
popular in their own town. They tarped off the upper
deck and portions of it. So I do think in
the NFL you don't need New York. In baseball, you
do need New York. In the NBA you.
Speaker 3 (15:42):
Don't need New York.
Speaker 1 (15:43):
I don't think Utah OKC being the reigning dynasty in
the NBA would necessarily help. But don't forget remember this
Jordan against the Jazz is that still today the highest
rated NBA Finals. It may be so Utah's got a
basketball brand. It almost feels collegiate, as does OKAC with
(16:03):
her fervor, and it's a small town.
Speaker 3 (16:05):
We'll see how it plays out.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
One more heard. The herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search her
to listen live or on demand whenever you like. So
here's the official story.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever against Chicago drew two
point seven million viewers. It's the most watched WNBA regular
season game in twenty five years. You know, don't listen
to the grifters out there that want to make this
like a racial story. The bottom line is her game pops.
She's a combination of Steph Curry and Jason Kidd. She's
(16:43):
making sixty foot passes in twenty nine footers. Frankly, she
has She plays a little bit like a guy. We've
never seen a woman shoot twenty eight footers. Her passing,
it looks like an NBA Jason Kidden is prime. It's
just a different looking game. Doesn't matter if it's Lamar
Jackson or Josh Allen, they both look different.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
They play.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
I don't care if it's Morgan Wallen or Beyonce. They
both sell out a tour. Who cares. People want unique,
they want different. Her game pops well. The racial component.
Diana Tarassi Sue Byrd didn't pop. Cheryl Miller did. It
was her game, Cheryl Miller. What were the discussions for
(17:25):
years about Cheryl Miller?
Speaker 3 (17:27):
Could she play in the NBA?
Speaker 1 (17:29):
She was their first star, like Cheryl Miller was like,
that was a discussion. Well, she beat Reggie one on
one in the backyard.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
So this whole thing.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
When I watch her play, it doesn't look like anybody else.
The WNBA's always had this fan base before Caitlin Clark,
where the people who were fans knew everything about the league,
and then other rush of sports fans didn't know anything
about it. Very niche, very garage band, very independent movie
fan base. But she played it just jumps off television
(18:02):
and people want to make this into anything other than that.
I called her a year and a half ago. I said,
she's Taylor Swift and tennis shoes. Is Taylor Swift the
most talented musical artist. No, but she does something emotionally,
she's good enough, and she connects with people. And is
Caitlin Clark the best player in the league, Well, she's
(18:22):
the best guard. Asia Wilson's the best player. Some people
just pop. I mean, Lamar Jackson cannot win a playoff game,
I'm sorry when he's on, I can't turn the TV off.
Josh Allen can't get to a Super Bowl. I can't
turn the TV off. Too many people are trying to
divide in my space. She's dynamic sixty foot passes. It's
(18:45):
Jason Kidd twenty eight footers, it's Steph Curry. The only
other player in my life in the WNBA that felt
like this women's player, and there's been a lot of
great ones, is Cheryl Miller, and it was her game.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
It was just different.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
We had discussions back then people did I think she
could think she could play in the NBA, Whether she
could or not, it was a discussion. And you look
at Caitlin Clark's range, it's NBA range. She is a
better shooter from twenty seven feet than most of the NBA.
And when you add that to a league that was
(19:21):
already growing, that's what it is people are. I mean,
the rivalry is great with Angel Reese because it was
born in college, like magic and birds, so that helps.
But Angel Reese is a really good player and a
great rebounder. She doesn't jump off the TV. He's just
a really good player in the League's got a bunch
of those, but two point seven million viewers regular season most.
Speaker 3 (19:44):
Viewed gave ever in twenty five years. Here's j Mack
with the news.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
No, no turn on the news. This is the herd
Line News.
Speaker 6 (19:56):
All right, let's start with the Raiders. That a lot
of Raiders stands out here, Colin standably. So they're excited.
They got Ashton Genty with the sixth overall pick.
Speaker 2 (20:04):
They got Geno Smith.
Speaker 6 (20:05):
Is their new quarterback, and the guy Chip Kelly is
the new oc.
Speaker 3 (20:09):
Interesting on Ashton Gentis.
Speaker 6 (20:11):
Remember in at Boise he had that upright backfield's stance
or he would just stand up and kind of look
like I think they were comparing him to Michael Myers
character and Friday the thirteenth through Chase people of the knife. Well,
chip Kelly has got him to tweak it. And here
he is talking about Gent talking about his new backfield book.
Speaker 7 (20:31):
What's crazy is man chip Kelly. He comes with me
your first day at rookie minie camp. He like, you
played basketball like you ever played basketball. I'm like, yeah,
I played basketball, like you know, I could dunk all that.
Speaker 4 (20:42):
He's like okay.
Speaker 7 (20:43):
He was like, show me how you would guard me?
Like and he acting like he owned the ball. He
like showed me how you guard me. He owned the ball,
like act like you own the ball and boom, I'm
like you know what, and he was like, that's exactly
why you gotta be down and you're running backstands.
Speaker 6 (21:00):
There he is standing up right right right. I mean, listen,
it was funny at Boise State. I get it, but
I think Tip Kelly's gone to something you probably got
to well. Getting him a stands like a running If.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
You're standing and I told you to run, you need
a step to start running. If you're leaning forward in
the chair that basketball is called the chair stands, you
don't need a step.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
You are running.
Speaker 1 (21:26):
So the truth is you get off to a quicker
start crouched overstanding. And also he's already a small running back.
Crouching makes him harder to see for safeties, so like
there's an aesthetic to it as well.
Speaker 4 (21:40):
Yeah, it's interesting, Jens.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
I don't know what to make of him.
Speaker 6 (21:43):
Colin Kitty again, he was like a transformative player in
college football. I just is he going to really pop
and be like a fairy standers time? I mean, obviously
that's crazy.
Speaker 3 (21:53):
I think he's going to be really good.
Speaker 1 (21:55):
I think it was a great running back class, and
every single stout I talked to had Genty above the class.
They like Hampton a lot as well, But I didn't
talk to the I talked to one executive in the
league who I respect, who thought he was the best player. Wow,
because of Travis Hunter having to play both. He goes,
(22:15):
you have to pick what he is. He goes, if
you're telling me positionally what player is best at his
singular position, he said, I would take Ashton Genty. And
by the way, everybody else I talked to had him
like four three six. Yeah, so I think he's gonna pop.
I beat Carroll knows personnel, so does Chip Kelly. I
think he's gonna pop.
Speaker 6 (22:34):
So I'm just curious this offensive skill position. Guys, right,
they got Genty in the backfield. Their receivers are Jakobe Myers,
Trey Tucker, and then the young kid Jack Beach tight
end is Ballad.
Speaker 3 (22:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 6 (22:47):
It feels like they're going to be defended in a
box because they don't have really a stretch the field guy,
unless you think that's Tucker. So they could be easy
to defend, if that makes sense sense.
Speaker 3 (22:56):
Yeah, I think any team.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Yeah, I mean, I don't think they're a great team,
but I think they will be so much better at
quarterback and so much better at running back, popping and
head coach. I think I said I said this last year.
If the Vikings finished fourth, they didn't, it would be
the best fourth place team ever.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
The Raiders last year.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
And they were as bad as any team and only
get quarterback gave the Chiefs fits twice. They will be
the Raiders if they finished fourth, will easily be the
best fourth place team in the division. I don't think
there's any question in the in the in the.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
League, in the league, let's stick in.
Speaker 6 (23:35):
The AFC talk about another rookie, and that's the Jags
trading up for Travis Hunter, the second overall pick. Now
that gives Trevor Lawrence a pretty nice weapon on the
outside to pair with game breaker Bryan Thomas Jr. Hunter
and Lawrence are now practicing together, and Trevor Lawrence took
to the podium to break down his thoughts on mister Hunter's.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Got a lot of jews.
Speaker 8 (23:58):
Can he can run all day?
Speaker 2 (24:00):
A lot of energy.
Speaker 8 (24:00):
I love it, good energy, always dabbing guys up, just
bringing juice every day, and like I said, high motor
can just go. It's like a kid just runs around
all day. He doesn't get tired, it seems like, so
you can't have enough of that. And then as far
as just talent, I mean kind of speaks for his self,
ball skills, run after the catch, he's very explosive.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
She didn't realize how exposive he was.
Speaker 8 (24:19):
In and out of cuts. You know, he's he's impressive
to watch. And we've gotten to connect a couple of times.
It's so longly gonna keep getting better and better. You know,
we've only worked together for a couple of days now,
so we got some time to really dial in on
the details.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Another reason I want Travis Hunter to play offense. You've
got to validate that Trevor Lawrence contract, honestly, like you've
got to. You've got to now listen, at this point,
he hasn't earned the money. At this point, he hasn't
been worth it. It's somebody I always said this about Dak,
the reason that George Pickens move works. If you're gonna
pay Dak that kind of money, you got to get
something out of it. You got to get good numbers
(24:50):
out of it and picking his short term works. So
I think Trevor Lawrence and I was a huge fan
out of college, I think it's fair to say he's
been a big disappointment now.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
I think he's plaid.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
I think he is what he is, and what he
is just isn't good enough. When c. J. Stroud's in
your division.
Speaker 6 (25:03):
Well, when you compared to like Andrew Lucket, you know
it's generational talent.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
Yeah, you've been a lotdown.
Speaker 6 (25:08):
But regarding Lawrence Colin, like he's been pretty solid. He
just hasn't been in otherworldly I mean, how many coaches
does the guy had, Like what great receivers has he had? Like, again,
he hasn't been put in a position to succeed and
ask for the contract. I thought you always said with contracts,
you're paying for what you think he'll deliver in the future.
Speaker 3 (25:28):
Not his past.
Speaker 6 (25:29):
And like I think he could easily be a fifty
five million other Pom.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
You don't think, Well, he's been dinged up. He hasn't
won a lot of big games.
Speaker 6 (25:37):
He had to come back against the Church, and you
gotta be.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Honest, it's probably arguably the weakest division in football, and
you can't let C. J. Stroud come in and own it.
Who came into a terrible organization last year at the
worst oal line in the league and won the division again?
You put him in the AFC Wester or NFC North.
Trevor Lawrence is finished in fourth. You have to you
(26:00):
got to add context.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
To all this stuff.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
He at this point, and I'm a fan, has not
been worth the money yet. I think he's a great kid.
Speaker 6 (26:08):
Who do you think has been better so far? And
who do you think you would trust more going forward?
Trevor Lawrence or Jordan.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
Loves Jordan loves.
Speaker 1 (26:18):
No.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
Wow, Okay, all.
Speaker 6 (26:20):
Right, my fair not even could argue that that's crazy. Well,
let's go to baseball college. We haven't talked Dodgers in
a minute, and they're kind of on the struggle bus.
They got a home run from Otani last night, but
they still lost to the Diamondbacks and LA now has
a first four game home losing streak since twenty eighteen.
Dave Roberts addressed the skid afterwards.
Speaker 9 (26:41):
It's hard to start, you know, games behind, you know
before you're taken it back. And I think the last
week we've been we have given up runs in the
first inning. So it's just, you know, we got to
thought that zero and kind of get a chance to
get the game going. But it does show something about
our offense. We continue to fight.
Speaker 2 (27:03):
You worried about your guys.
Speaker 1 (27:05):
Diamondbacks have a good batting order and the Dodgers can't
get anybody out. It doesn't they've they've had, they've they
can get ugly like everybody else baseball. So long they're
fine when they're healthy and their pitching comes back and
Otani start pitching bild.
Speaker 6 (27:17):
One of my buddies out here compared them a little
bit to the Boston Celtics who won the title last year.
Had a stack roster, everybody loves them, and then Boston
kind of went through the Motions, didn't even win the
East in the regular season, and now got bounced in
the second round. Is there a parallel there, you think
Dodgers and Celtics.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
No, I don't. I think I think you.
Speaker 1 (27:40):
I think you have to look at baseball and just
the really good teams with the really high payrolls. They're
all aiming for September. That's what they care about. They
want to be healthy in September. They just want to
get through you know, they're just trying to get through
it healthy, get your arms healthy. I don't take anything
from it. They've just they pull behind and they can't
(28:01):
get anybody out. Jay McK of the news, Well that's the.
Speaker 2 (28:06):
News, and thanks for stopping that. The herd Line News.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
I saw this is interesting.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
So in the history of the NFL, I don't remember
a quarterback room that was weirder than the Cleveland Browns.
So it's Deshaun Watson, who's hurt, nobody likes and won't play.
Two rookies drafted Dylan Gabriel and schedu Her Sanders, sort
of a cast off who was a whiff in Pittsburgh,
(28:38):
didn't do much in Philadelphia, Kenny Pickett, and the likable
aged Joe Flacco, who's at the end the twilight, the
very twilight of his career, but he wins more games
than you think and he's got big size, big arm,
really good for the locker room.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
So it just to me. So they have OTA's in
a week.
Speaker 1 (28:58):
They just had mini camp and I saw a story
this week I thought was odd where Kenny Pickett will
take first team stamps and I thought time out. I
don't think he's as good as Flaco. Recently, he hasn't been.
Kenny Pickett's been bad as an NFL quarterback against good
(29:19):
teams like not even backup bad, can have him in
the building bad, And I'm going to I'll lay it
out there there are five quarterbacks for the Browns. I'm
gonna argue Flacco starts, shaduor Sanders wins the job. The
one thing I've always said about Shadeur Sanders is he
(29:39):
didn't win a lot in college. But if you look
at the ranked opponents they played, and he had a
terrible old line nineteen touchdowns, four picks, completed seventy percent
of his throws for almost three hundred yards a game.
He was a good big game player. He couldn't win
because he was overwhelmed and running for his life with
no run game. This whole Kenny Pickett story. The hard
(30:05):
part about this story is I think the owner who
wanted to draft Baker Manzel and signed Deshan Watson, I
think the owner like Schaduur more than Stefanski, wanted to
draft him. That's why they drafted Dylan Gabriel two rounds
before so they wouldn't have to draft and get into
the Shador sweepstakes, but Dylan Gabriel is not going to
(30:26):
get cut at OTAs and either a Shaduur. Jeff Schwartz
talked about the Brown situation, and he's probably right.
Speaker 10 (30:34):
There's just not enough reps calling unless you Dur is
that good early on, he's that much better than Flackker,
which he probably won't be in practice, right Flatko has
done this a long time now, so you basically would
have to give him the job, saying hey man, we
just see so much of practice, there's not a lot
to see in games yet will give him jumps. I
think early on it's probably Flaco Picket whoever wins that job,
and then the primary backup will just be the winner
(30:56):
of the Sanders Gabriel.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Well, if that's the case, shaudor Sanders is a much
better pro prospect than Dylan Gabriel. So my money is
Flacco beats out Picket and then Shaduur is the backup
and becomes the starter very quickly. The other reason that
Shaduur is safe is that the owner likes him. Because
we're not talking about the Cleveland Browns with Joe Burrow
(31:20):
and Lamar Jackson and the Steelers brand without Shaduur Sanders.
So it's really weird. You never have this many quarterbacks around.
You know the kid they drafted, Dylan Gabriel, I showed
you a picture last week. I just I don't think
he's a starting NFL quarterback. I don't think Kenny Pickett is.
And at this point, Deshaun Watson's not so to me,
(31:42):
Flaco and Shuduer Sanders are your options. So that's my bet.
Flaco wins the job, Shoudur wins the backup. And you
don't have to like Shudur Sanders. But if Dion would
have never spoke, would have never said the things he
said during Super Bowl week, there's no way Shador Sanders
(32:02):
drops past the middle of the second round. You don't
have to love him, but a fifth round quarterback is
viewed solely as a backup. I can't believe everybody in
the league thinks he has no chance to be a
starting quarterback. I just don't believe it. Go look at
Shadur's numbers against ranked teams with a pretty modest supporting
(32:23):
staff on the old line in the run game, it's
the hurt.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays
in noon eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio App.
Speaker 11 (32:35):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together We're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You could catch
us weekdays from five to seven pm Eastern two to
four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and of course the
iHeartRadio App.
Speaker 4 (32:47):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 11 (32:49):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. We have a lot of fun talking
about the stories behind the stories in the world of
sports and pop culture, stories that well other show don't
seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together. I mean that says something, right, So
check us out. We like to get you involved too,
(33:09):
take your phone calls, chop it up. As they say,
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the live show, just search kovin On and Rich wherever
you get your podcasts, and of course on social media
that's Covino and Rich breaks.
Speaker 3 (33:34):
It's hard to figure out.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Too many people you don't want to get, you know,
they want to create this Caitlin Clark drama that doesn't
really exist. The reason she just broke a WNBA ratings record.
And it's interesting what pops in America. I'll give you
an example. My son started playing Minecraft, you know, back
in about twenty fourteen, and the movie if you take
(33:55):
out Minecraft, the movie right now from Hollywood, it's been
a terrible year. Like Minecraft is saving Hollywood, like Oppenheimer
and Barbie did a few years ago. So Minecraft started
in Sweden and my son was on it, like every
day he and his buddies were on Minecraft from Sweden.
Speaker 3 (34:14):
I can't explain it.
Speaker 1 (34:16):
I think Caitlin Clark her only comp is Tiger Woods.
People were not watching golf, and then Tiger Woods double
the numbers. I mean they were watching the Masters in
Jack and Arnie. But like he brought a whole new audience.
And now you could say Michael Jordan, but Michael Jordan
took a few years. You know, people forget this about
Michael Jordan. He won a Natty at Carolina his first year.
(34:38):
He stayed in college for two more years. Hey, he
didn't get that. He wasn't winning championships his last two years,
so you kind of forgot about him. I remember when
he didn't go number one, he went number three. Remember
Portland had Clyde Drexler and passed on him. There wasn't
a national outrage for Michael Jordan. And then he went
to Chicago and the Bulls were Orlando Warridge, Quentin Daily.
(35:02):
They're a mess of a franchise. Jordan didn't take over
the league. At that point. The Celtics were popular and
the Lakers were pot Michael Jordan took time to become
like this. The fervor around him, you know, Lebron, the
NBA was already established on TV. He didn't save the league.
(35:22):
He didn't double the ratings. Connor McGregor was more gasoline
on the fire for UFC, but it was always it
was already the fastest growing sport. You had Chuck Ledell,
You had people people that knew about UFC. Now, Connor
McGregor became their rock star, but it was already growing
like wildfire. There have been a couple of musical acts
(35:42):
that were just immediate hits.
Speaker 3 (35:44):
At least they feel immediate.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Garth Brooks I can remember now U two en rolling Stones,
the Eagles over time sold out. But Garth Brooks got
hot fast, Beyonce hot fast, Taylor Swift little slower growth.
But there's there's there's There's not a lot out there
like Tiger Woods and Caitlin Clark. That's the comp where
we didn't watch something and now we watch it all
(36:07):
the time.
Speaker 3 (36:08):
I never talked.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
WNBA, the people who are opinionists in this country. He
hadn't talk WNBA. It was nothing against the WNBA. It
wasn't interesting enough. It just didn't have superstar players. It
just had a bunch of you know, good players. The
game wasn't that fascinating. It's really something to watch. The
merchandise sales. I mean to be able to take a
league that flew commercial and get it on private flight
(36:33):
first year. That's Tiger, that's not Lebron, that's not Connor McGregor,
that's not even Taylor Swift. So what we're seeing here,
and I'll give the WNBA credit, They had no idea
how popular she was going to be even Steph Curry
as popular as he was, there was a real argument
(36:54):
in the Bay Area whether to keep Monteelis or Steph Curry,
Like that was the people talked about that, Like Jerry
West was like, if you don't keep if you don't
keep staff, you're out of your mind. But Montelis was
hyper athletic. He was fun to watch. I think they
were a playoff team, like people were watching the Warriors,
Michael Jordan. When Michael last two years in the tournament,
(37:17):
people were more enamored with the If I recall NC
State and Jim Volmano, they weren't. They weren't the best
team in his college state in one of his last years,
if I recall, so, there's nothing like this. And again
Connor McRuer was big, but the UFC was growing and
(37:37):
had a rabid fan base and was selled out arenas.
So I don't I don't even I don't know how
to explain it. It's like it's Minecraft. Worldwide gross box
office is nearly a billion dollars. It's in the top
seventy five of grossing movies of all time. And it
was a video game. And if you had a young son,
I can't. I can't. My daughter didn't play. If you
(37:58):
had a young son in the last ten years, they
had to be on Minecraft. My son was easily distracted
except for Minecraft. So I think the WNBA, to their credit,
they were overwhelmed the first year. They just it was
like Ticketmaster not having enough tickets for certain acts. Sometimes
(38:20):
things pop in this country and I can't explain it.
Speaker 3 (38:23):
Like I'll say this about Taylor Swift. She's great. My
daughter years and years ago. It's weird happenstance.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
My daughter fifteen years ago, I said, who's your favorite
musical act? She goes, oh, I love Taylor Swift, and
I said, you know, it's funny. Her dad works with
a friend of mine in Nashville, and she sent an
autograph picture with a pick. I'm not really into that stuff,
but my daughter had it in her room. She probably
still has it somewhere. And that was like, oh, because
you know, I didn't, but I didn't know who Taylor
(38:51):
Swift was. And even when I listened to Taylor Swift
now it doesn't it doesn't like move me like it's not.
And there's been a lot of Amy winingart and I
was like, oh, lady Gaga. I mean there have been
is that Amy Wininguard Amy Winehouse my bad, There's been
music I've listened to a lot of MORI set came out.
(39:13):
I was like, Oh, that's gravelly, that's rough. That works
for me. I don't really get the Taylor Swift thing.
I think it's a movement. A lot of stuff I
don't get, and it pops.
Speaker 3 (39:26):
I'll tell you.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
With Caitlin Clark, I don't think it's that hard. She's
shooting twenty eight footers women didn't. She takes NBA three
pointers and she passes like Jason Kidd, and I think
whether it's some emotional connection. She played in the Midwest.
I don't know if that's it. A lot of people
played in the Midwest. I do think what has helped
women's basketball and has hurt men's basketball is that women
(39:50):
stay in college for three or four years and develop rivalries,
so we have some level of emotional attachment. And you know,
the NBA or every other NBA draft is all European
guys at the top. I didn't watch them play out them.
I'm not watching Ducal Dwarf on YouTube.
Speaker 3 (40:05):
I don't know who they are.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
This year's Draft with Cooper Flag and the Rutgers guys
will be more domestic, but it's we don't get these
a lot. It may be every half decade in America.
I remember Sopranos. Sopranos hit and there are very few
TV shows that change my lifestyle. But Tiger Woods got
me to a TV on Sundays. Sopranos got me to it.
Speaker 3 (40:31):
I like mob stuff.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Very few TV shows have ever changed. I remember when
I was in college. I think it was Cheers on
Thursday night everybody, because you all went to bars in college.
Cheers got me to a TV. Sopranos got me to
a TV. Caitlin Clark does. She's got that sticky quality.
Speaker 6 (40:51):
Yeah, no, for sure. There is a parallel to Curry
that I think you brought up. Curry went to Davidson
small college, was slaying the big dogs. I know Iowa
not small, but in the college basketball world.
Speaker 4 (41:02):
They're small.
Speaker 6 (41:02):
Caitlin Clark was taking down all the big dogs and
taking down records, and I think people got behind that.
Speaker 3 (41:08):
We love an underdog in this country.
Speaker 4 (41:09):
Colin, you know that, okay.
Speaker 6 (41:11):
And Kitlin Clark, with the ball in her hands all
the time, is doing magical stuff. And that's one of
the things that like, you know, some of the angel reades,
for example, she sitn't have the ball in her hands
all the time. She needs to get the ball to
do something. Caitlin Clark always has the ball dribbling circles
around everybody.
Speaker 4 (41:25):
Phenomenal story. I'll tell you.
Speaker 6 (41:27):
You know, my daughter plays some hoops. As soon as
the WNBA schedule came out, my wife and daughter were like,
when is Caitlin Clark coming to play the LA Sparks.
We want to go to the game again this year.
So like, that's that's not happening. That's never happened before
in our family, Like we just haven't gone to a
WNBA game before.
Speaker 3 (41:44):
Caitlin Clark.
Speaker 1 (41:45):
Well, I remember when Taylor Swift was in Los Angeles.
I think she played six or seven shows at sofar
all sold out. You would go to restaurants in LA
that week and you would see tables of eight to
ten to twelve women having dinner before they went to
the show, all messed up, middle aged women, young women.
I'm like, okay, I've never seen this. This is a phenomenon.
I don't even know how to explain it.
Speaker 3 (42:05):
Coward freedo
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Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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